The Nutritional Supplement

What Course(s) did you graduate from at CNELM and when did you graduate?

I did the degree in Nutritional therapy, though I was working 4 days a week for the first year and a half, I was able to finish it in 3 years and graduated in 2008.

What did you do before doing this course?

My first degree was in Engineering and I worked for British Airways for 18 years. I was fortunate to do a range of jobs there, my final job was as a senior manager in engineering for business planning and programme management, this meant I put together the budget for the Engineering department and managed the implementation of new products such as a new business class cabin across all the relevant aircraft.

What made you decide to embark on this course of study and what attracted you to CNELM?

It seems odd to think about it now, but after 9/11, there really were concerns as to whether the airline industry would survive, so I started to think about other professions. Having lost my mother and grandmother to motor neurone disease, my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The first thing I did was search for books on food and prostate cancer and 6 months later the penny dropped and I realised this was an area I wanted to move into.

I wanted to train to the highest level possible (which was a bachelor degree at the time) and was delighted to discover that CNELM was on my doorstep.

It was wonderful then to be invited back to teach at CNELM after I had graduated. For several years I was a module leader (alongside Beatrice Cutler) for Pathology and Nutraceutical modules and Clinical Skills – now INTP.  I still contribute to the Why Weight NLP course with Chris Rasey and I love coming back into college and interacting with students at the start of the nutrition adventure.

How soon were you able to build up a successful practice after graduating?

I had loved the NLP part of the course, so had started to do some health coaching before I graduated. Once I had finished, there was a new multi-discipline clinic which had opened nearby looking for a nutritional therapist, so I based there as soon as I could.

It took a while to build up a client base, so I designed my own healthy eating classes (a bit like Zest4life is now) and I worked a couple of days a week at a health food shop which I found really helped to embed the knowledge I had, whilst continuing my learning.

What made you decide to specialise in CFS/ME?

After 3 years of doing general nutrition I was looking to specialise. When the opportunity came up at the Optimum Health clinic (OHC) I thought this would be ideal, as I had a few clients with CFS /ME and had made some progress with them and found it hugely satisfying and interesting.  Of course, it is far from specialist as chronic fatigue, like many chronic health conditions, is very complex often with multiple functional health issues for an individual. 

Tell us a bit about The Optimum Health Clinic.

The OHC is a specialist clinic for CFS/ME and has existed for 14 years now. It was founded by its CEO Alex Howard after he recovered from CFS/ ME through years of his own research and trying many different approaches – some that worked and some didn’t.

We have a nutrition team and a psychology team, so clients can do one or the other or both depending on what is most relevant for them.

After working at the OHC for 3 years, I was made Director of Nutrition, so whilst still having my own client base I also now manage the nutrition team and recruit as we expand. We now have twelve registered nutritional therapy practitioners in the team, which really makes a massive difference to the working environment. Whist we still work in a classic clinic setting – i.e. having one to one consultations with our clients, its great to have eleven colleagues to ask questions, seek advice from and share our findings with. We meet “virtually” every couple of weeks to discuss protocols or share case studies, it feels like a really supportive environment and I am sure our clients benefit as a result.

One of the aims of the OHC is to be able to help as many people as possible and as a private clinic, this means it can be too expensive for many people who have CFS/ME and cannot work.  It is for this reason, we consider research very important and hope that the work we do can be recognised in time by the NHS.  To that aim we are currently working with Surrey University on a clinical trial we are hoping that we will be able to compare our programme (nutrition and psychotherapy) with the NHS approach. We are currently in the early stages of going through ethics approval, so there is still a long way to go; it is certainly ambitious to document our individualised functional approach in a way that can get through NHS ethics.

How often do you use NLP in your practice?

As there is a psychology department at the OHC I don’t tend to do it there, however they do use a lot of NLP so it is great that I have an idea of what a client might have done with their psychology practitioner so that I can help to reinforce that work and use some of the same language.

I still have a small private clinic and I will bring in NLP if it seems appropriate.  If I have a client with disordered eating issues then it is highly likely I will use NLP at some point.

Is there anything you wish you’d known before finishing your studies that you might have prepared for differently?

I think I found out quite late how difficult it is to get established in this profession, but that is probably a good idea as I might never have done it – I am only earning about a third of what I would have been if I had stayed at British Airways. That said, the reward I get every day makes up for it.

What or who has most inspired you in your work?

We have so many talented people in our world, I can happily say I find inspiration all around. For instance each of my nutrition colleagues at the OHC bring a different energy, background and insight which I learn from every day; my clients who have to put in the effort to make significant changes to their diet and lifestyle often when they are in difficult personal as well as health situations; teachers/lecturers who are sharing their knowledge by teaching nutrition, particularly those that have a clinic as well – as I know from experience how difficult it is to stay on top of the latest research, prepare lectures and share the information in a way that students hearing it for the first time can grasp: and previous students who have absorbed the new knowledge and gone from strength to strength.

Being more specific – Kate Neil clearly was my number one inspiration and will always be in the top place. I was also fortunate to meet Terry Wahls a few years ago; I really admire her work and think her story is very motivating and hopeful.

I also think the work that the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) do is admirable and the work that Robert Verkerk leads there is paramount to our industry – his energy, passion and intellect can only be admired.

Do you have any tips, hints, things you’d have done differently...?

Our profession can be quite lonely and difficult at times, so I would encourage all nutritional therapists to at least have one professional buddy and also to be part of the BANT supervision as it is really helpful to feel part of a group and get support in that way.